Asked if any nations still fear England, the Manchester City striker said: "No. England are the favourites because they have so many good players and they are a huge nation but we have played them three times and shown we can compete with them."

The forward believes it is Roy Hodgson's men who will suffer tension on Friday. "I think they have more pressure than us because they are expected to win – and expect to win," he said.

"The fact that we have drawn three times with England gives us confidence for this game and the fact we have Moldova at home [next week]. England have us and then Poland. It is going to be a big fight to see which country goes through."

Regarding any move to try to unsettle or provoke Rooney, Jovetic said: "No, no. He is a very good player and has shown that so many times. No, we're not going to do that. It's normal that you play with passion when you play for your national team. I think he is a very good player – we are not going to set out to provoke him."

Jovetic has scored 10 times in 27 appearances so he will be considered to be a danger by England. "I don't feel pressure I just want to play well for my national team and after we will see how the results have gone," he said.

The 23-year-old, who cost City £22m from Fiorentina, is clear how much he and his squad-mates want to play at Brazil 2014. "I have two dreams – to win the Champions League with City and go to the World Cup in Brazil with Montenegro … For us it means everything to get to the finals of the World Cup or the European Championship because we are such a small country. It is important not just for football reasons but also for the prestige of the country. We have seen neighbouring countries like Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia reach the finals in the past and now we want to get there."

Hodgson has already confirmed that Joe Hart will retain his place as England's goalkeeper despite recent uneven form. "We have spoken a lot about the game and he said 'good luck' when we left the stadium on Saturday, but I'm not sure he really meant it," Jovetic joked of his club-mate.

Of Hart's recent difficulties, he added: "It was good for his confidence for him to play well against Everton [in the 3-1 win]. For me he is one of top three goalkeepers in the world. As I say, I expect a very difficult [game] but I believe we can win."

Jovetic resumed full training last Friday following what Manuel Pellegrini, the City manager, described as a light calf strain. Since joining he has made only three appearances, starting once each in the league and in the Capital One Cup, with his last game as a late replacement in last month's 3-2 defeat at Aston Villa. "It's true I haven't played much football. When I arrived I had a problem with my hamstring," said Jovetic. "The other players were already playing and I was doing the preparation.

"Then I went away with the national team and I came back with another little problem and the team were playing well. I played against Stoke and after that I played against Wigan and felt good. I didn't play against Everton because I've had a [calf] problem for two days.

"I spoke with the manager and he didn't want to risk me and felt it was better that I didn't play. I would like to have played more going into this game but I've had a couple of injuries and not been able to get a run in the team. Now I hope I'm going to stay fit and things will get better."